Hey y’all, hope you had the merriest of Christmases. I spent my day off starting the process of cleaning out my closet – oh what fun! Over the past couple of months I’ve read a lot about capsule waredrobes and I’ve thought a lot about it. I LOVE clothes and fashion but I tend to buy a lot of OMG I love this in the moment pieces and then fall out of love very quickly. But last week I decided I need to make this move – in preparation for my husband’s company holiday dinner I realized I had nothing to wear. I mean, I obviously had clothes but it struck me at that moment that I don’t currently have the classic LBD that can go from the office to a night out and if my closet is lacking the basic cornerstone of a woman’s waredrobe than clearly I’m doing something wrong.
I’ve decided to do a major clean out, take inventory to discover key pieces missing and focus my clothing spending in 2017 on investing in staple pieces rather than lots of fast fashion. I always hesitate to buy investment pieces because I tell myself I can’t afford them or to not spent too much on something at my current size. But you know what, I’ve also noticed that when I wear nice clothes and feel good about my look on a particular day I tend to eat less junk so instead of buying 10 $24.99 tops I’d rather add two great tops to my closet and if they doesn’t fit next year get them altered or take to consignment. And as far as not affording – for every $200 item I walked away from the reality was there were 10 “affordable” pieces, most of which I probably don’t even own anymore so I would have been better off buying that one quality $200 piece to begin with. So, to keep myself from getting off track next year I’m putting it out there that these will be my items to focus on next year and my budget for each.
1. One great little black dress $250
2. A white wrap shirt $200
3. A camel colored cashmere sweater $100
4. Tan pencil skirt $100
5. Denim skirt $100
6. Sequin skirt $50
7. Solid colored blouses (ideally four but I’d be happy with 3 if needed for my budget) $300
8. Gold wedges $100
9. Black pumps $100
10. Nude Pumps $100
11. Cowboy boots $300
12. Fur stole $300
I think with what I already have I can make some great outfits with these additions and making my list will help me keep my eye on a goal rather than getting distracted when online shopping. I’m also looking to drastically cut my clothing spending next year – my investment pieces budget is $2,000 and I’ll leave myself another $1,000 for accessories, trendy pieces and undergarments. I know to a lot of people this sounds like a lot but I couldn’t even tell y’all the last year in which I spent less than $5K on clothes so trust me – this is a big cut and will be challenging for me.
When taking inventory the thing that surprised me the most is that of the 12 items I feel like are a priority for me in 2017 four of them were shoes. I have tons of shoes but most I never wear. My gold wedges tend to be my go-to shoes and you’d be surprised how many outfits they will work with but my last pair are really worn out and I’ve slipped in them twice they are so worn on the bottom and like the LBD I was shocked to realize I don’t currently have just a plain pair of black heels.
The biggest challenges for me will be to a. stick to my budget – I’ve already looked at black dresses and thought well maybe I’ll get one daytime one and one clearly night out one for $125 each but the whole point is to find that great, versatile just needs a change of accessories piece and then I did find one that I love but it’s $598 – and maybe that would be a great investment but that’s a little too much to invest for me right now. b. not impulse buy – it’s very much in my nature to se something that’s the item I’m looking for and if the price is right click add to cart but I really want to take the time to research what the best for each item is in my budget. And maybe I decide that there really is no more perfect of a LBD for me than that one for $598 so I wait for Sak’s to put it on sale or save a little on my other pieces and increase my dress budget a little. c be patient – Ideally I would just but everything on my list this weekend and bam be done for the year but I know me, and I know the itch to shop will return soon so taking the time to research and have items to hunt for is better for me – I’m going to shop anyway so I need to give myself a clear purpose to my shopping.
I’m really excited to change my shopping habits in 2017 and of course the thrill of the hunt is always exciting. Hopefully I’ll have some posts in 2017 to update y’all on how this project is progressing. And if y’all have brands that you love that are within my budget, or maybe above but can be found on sale I’d love to hear about them!